ABOUT PONTEVEDRA
Pontevedra is the capital of the province of Pontevedra in the autonomous community of Galicia and has a population of about 80,000. It is the cultural and historical capital of the province, as well as the Rías Baixas, or lower rías, which are the numerous islets and islands on the coast of the province. Pontevedra has been given numerous awards for excellent quality of living, accessibility, intelligent mobility, and conservation of cultural heritage and nature. Evidence of communities having settled in Pontevedra dates back to the Bronze Age, and later integrated into the Roman Empire. The name Pontevedra means “old bridge” in Latin, from the bridge built in the year 137 with military columns dedicated to the Emperor Adrian. These columns remain standing in Pontevedra today.
Pontevedra is the youngest city in Galicia, with an average age of 42 years. The University of Vigo has a campus in Pontevedra located in the north of the city with several different schools and departments such as the Fine Arts and Fashion schools. Pontevedra also has a UNED center, which is the National University of Distance Education. The city is extremely pedestrian-friendly as the entire center of the city is blocked off to cars. There are many lovely plazas and parks to visit and it’s a great place to go for a run. There are many good Spanish restaurants and bars, and people love to sit on the terrazas and have a coffee, though there is not much variety in the cuisine. It is a quaint, small city. On Sundays, people normally stay in until the late afternoon and it is less common to eat out on Sundays in Pontevedra and almost no stores are open.
TRANSPORTATION IN PONTEVEDRA
To get around Pontevedra walking is almost always your best bet. Unless you’re going somewhere particularly distant from the center of town, you can get to pretty much any part of the city in 30 minutes or less. Pontevedra offers a metrominuto map, which tells you how long it takes you on average to walk around important spots in the city. Pontevedra has the most pedestrian spaces in Galicia and the majority of movement in the center is pedestrian. Biking could be an option for you, as Pontevedra has bicycle-only, or shared with pedestrian, tracks. However, it might not be very convenient in winter when it’s rainy. If you need to go farther out in the city, or if it’s raining too much, Pontevedra offers a bus network, that takes you all around the city and its surroundings, or las afueras. Tickets are 1.25€. A transit pass, or bono, is also available. If you’re looking to get out of town, the bus station, at Rúa da Estación, 0, offers a range of different companies and services that can take you to other Galician cities/towns or other parts of Spain or Portugal. Monbus and Rías Baixas are the two main bus companies and Pontevedra is pretty well-connected within the region. There is also Alsa and Atsa in Vigo. The train station, located at Avenida Marín, offers normal and high-speed trains that take you to other Galician/Spanish cities. In the words of one 2016-2017 grantee, “it’s more expensive to travel by plane, but this is also a pro because I explored Galicia extensively and loved it.” If you want to travel by plane, you can use Porto (you can get there by bus or train train) or Vigo airport.
DAILY LIFE IN PONTEVEDRA
Generally, in Galicia, the main supermarkets are Gadis, Froiz, and Día, with locations in various parts of town. Gadis is the most recommended out of the three by a past university lecturer. This lecturer especially liked this particular store “because they identify local products with a little scallop shell symbol, so you know you’re buying something fresh and supporting the local economy.”
If you are interested in studying Spanish or Galician, check out the Escuela Oficial de Idiomas de Pontevedra.